Analysis and discussion
A discussion and analysis of “The Reverend.”
The Reverend is a man who is found his center. He’s found his rock to stand on and there he stands. He is a man of absolute faith, and an intelligent man. He knows the Bible by chapter and verse. He has studied the great thinkers, the great evangelists – Wesley and Luther. He is firm in constitution – he knows sin from Good.
He can see in society the influence of Satan and he knows how subtle his influence can be. He himself has been tempted and sometimes he’s failed but he has repented and dedicates himself and re-educates himself to his cause which is ultimately eternal life. Scripture states that “the battle is for the mind.”
So here we see a man who is a strong leader, very influential. You either love him or you wish you would get out of town. He’s not afraid to speak the truth (in love) but – he will speak. Other times he’s quiet, he’s observing but does not relax and so this is a man who can see the influence of Satan in a person’s life and he earnestly, with his entire being, and his entire discipline, wants to save your soul. Therefore, he shares what he knows – the good news – but his sermons are full of hell because he knows his audience – frail humans who require a rule. As it is written in the scriptures: “spare the rod spoil the child” so the Reverend carries a rod and it is a formidable rod.
More than anything else = he has their attention and he speaks for the Almighty and really, when you look at it from the view of human history, death was the one thing that they could be certain of. The rest of it was up for grabs.
Now in 2024 and the 21st century, we expect to have things (whatever it may be) certain – whether the kind of lifestyle, certain diets, certain bank accounts and credit ratings, you know, investment portfolio – and the Reverend sees these things as the tools of the Devil, the seductions of Babylon and evidence of the Fall, evidence of Apocalypse.
Now onto the painting. I chose to make it rather stark. There are essentially very simple forms here: the hat, the head, the upper body, even the beard – an arrangement of objects and of shapes dark and light. I placed and arranged all of this not because I was looking for a “self-portrait” but because I wanted to create a painting and I decided to be the model. This is what I saw – a side of myself that I know of but never looked at.
I highly recommend this practice – after all, that model works cheap – and you’ll learn a lot. Just get a mirror, set up a light. Doesn’t even have to be good, as a matter of fact that might be more interesting if it wasn’t good lighting – dramatic, strange, evocative. Play with the light – maybe it will help you find what it is that you’re saying: despair, joy, spiritual enlightenment, recovery – and then paint what you see, what you feel.
Discover what’s behind the image – find that which transpires behind which that – which is the title of a great Sufi book.”That which transpires behind that which we see” – highly recommended!
I also highly recommend the practice of using yourself, your own face, your own body as subject matter – you know, for studies. You make studies, right? Do it a lot, do it all the time – create a picture out of your reality.
Not just a reproduction – don’t just stand there like a mannequin but move – move, take a look, make the stroke, put in the color, and block it in – capture it, back and forth back and forth. Capture the moment when you get the vision.
That’s my recommendation on that and I’m sure that the Reverend would agree because as we all know “idle hands are the devil’s workplace” – which I don’t think is actually in the Bible but you get the idea.
By constant practice, even an hour or two a day or a couple hours every couple of days. if nothing else – when you don’t know where to go and you don’t know what to do do – do a a self portrait but make it something.
Decide on the theme, the archetype (more on that in another video, so stay tuned) – perhaps “The Temptress” – there’s a good one. Maybe “The Warrior” – and that brings up a discussion on a separate painting which I call “Henry” which I will reveal soon. I will also do an analysis of that painting.
Hopefully this has been helpful. Remember to click the Like and subscribe. By doing that, you are supporting an artist – a painter – just by clicking “Like” – it’s the easiest thing you can do, and it does support me in my work. I think there’s a lot of artists that could benefit from this practice and if we all supported one another – we’d be doing okay
Thank you have a great day
Good night and good luck